We paddled from Stonecliffe to Deep River, stopping at Swisha for the long portage around the dam. We did the 2.5-3km walk along a gravel road then down the paved "rue principale" of Des Joachim (the official name of the place before it was anglised by the seemingly English speaking majority of this tiny Quebec border town of, I'm estimating, 200 people. After carrying our bags and equipment then stopping for lunch to eat lots and lighten our load, we walked back to pick up the canoe. We had covered about 300m of the trek when a kind......very kind ..."semaritan" with a pick up, drove us the rest of the way, saving us a lot of trouble and surely anger towards the canoe at the end of it all. Once loaded, we paddled a short distance to fill our empty (for portage reasons) water bottles next to a nice alluvial beach. We continued the day, passing nice cottages/homes on the Ontario side of the river, in contrast to the vast green wilderness that existed above the dam. The Quebec side of the river is still undeveloped without a road. Since we didn't see any islands or areas on the Ontario bank, we set our sites for beach area on the eastern side. The beach was beautiful and being used by residents of Deep River from the opposite shore. The water was as flat as glass with an incredible reflection from the late day sun and there were people who took interest in our trip which to this point has been limited due to the remotness of the route and the amount of time we spent on the water. The family using the site as a waterskiing base invited us to stay with them and after consulting, we happily accepted. The picture is of one of the Swisha dams...it may not be too visible since this is the dam, we were told, to stay away from. This grey, windy morning background is in contrast to the sunny, calm afternoon...someone must have been thinking "flat water" for us.. :-)
Don't forget that there are more photos at this site..
September 5 - We awoke at 3:56am to a pterodactyl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterodactyl making a menacing noise and coming straight for us and the tent - we survived and left that strange campsite early (Campsite 301) ... Please advise others about Campsite 301. As we were leaving we saw a bear 15 metres from us. We also heard very strange sounds throughout the night. The same day we pushed for North Bay and got there at 8:18 p.m. after paddling for a 14 hour stretch....we were totally pooched. Ahh, North Bay with a bed and flush toilets. It's strange living in a civilised world....We got help from my buddies in North Bay to portage 5 miles through city. We plan to leave at 5 p.m. for Camp Island then head for Trout Lake - Mattawa river and the Ottawa River. ETA in Ottawa...the 15th....of September!
We're finally back in Rogers range for e-mailing. The wind is at our backs as we're paddling up the French River nearing hwy 69. Here's a pic of Ben sussing out the rapid we need to climb.
Successfully crossed Lake Huron and are in Killarney. We'll be heading for the mouth of the French River tomorrow but probably won't make it there until Sunday. Ben has succeeded in finding french fries for dinner.
Ross trying to swallow meatballs from my gourmet cooking, except that the meatballs weren't even meat so to speak....more like Macdonalds processed meat...if you know what I mean...
